Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Turnovers proved costly for the Augustana women's basketball team on Wednesday, February 10 in a 79-57 loss to Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington, Illinois.  The Vikings coughed up the ball 27 times, including eight times in the first quarter when they fell behind 16-12.
 
Augustana trailed 42-31 at halftime and 72-43 after three quarters before outscoring the Titans 14-7 in the fourth period.
 
With 1:03 left in the first quarter the Vikings cut the margin to 14-12 thanks to a basket by freshman Sadie Roberts (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.). Illinois Wesleyan got a layup from Gabby Weber with :17 left to push the margin to four (16-12) at the first intermission.
 
A three point field goal by junior Jennifer VanWatermeulen (United Township HS, Silvis, Ill.) allowed Augustana to pull within one point (16-15) early in the second. After a Titan basket, Roberts scored at the 9:04 mark to make it 18-17.
 
However, the Titans went on a 13-4 run and a layup by Molly McGraw with 4:24 left before halftime had the lead up to double digits (31-21) for the home team.
 
In the third quarter Illinois Wesleyan used an 18-2 run to start things off and build a 61-33 advantage with 6:37 left. That effectively put the game away.
 
Roberts and junior Kaycee Kallenberger (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) each scored 12 points to lead the Vikings.  Each player pulled down a team-leading six rebounds while freshman Carly McCameron (Antioch HS, Antioch, Ill.) had five rebounds.
 
Junior Olivia Mayer (Libertyville HS, Green Oaks, Ill.), sophomore Victoria Allen (Eureka HS, Wildwood, Mo.), VanWatermeulen and freshman Izzy Anderson (Alleman Catholic HS, Rock Island, Ill.) all had three assists.
 
Illinois Wesleyan was led in scoring by McGraw with 22 points while Weber had 13 and Rebekah Ehresman had 11. The Titans won the rebounding battle 43-37.
 
Augustana is now 10-13 overall and 5-7 in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin while Illinois Wesleyan moves to 14-9 and 9-3. The Vikings travel to Decatur, Illinois on Saturday, February 13 for a 5:00 p.m. battle with Millikin.